Caller name information is often centrally maintained on the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) in a Caller Name (CNAM) database. The ability for a customer to override the listed caller information is limited to the local processing capability of the customer's telephone. For instance, a phone with speed dial memory or a built-in phone book may display the information from the phonebook entry corresponding to the phone number of the calling party. With the use of smart phones or programmable phones which maintain a phone book, the calling number can be associated with a name in the phone book such that the calling party can be identified by name. This only works, however, on devices so capable and programmed. Moreover, while such functionality is commonly available on smart cellular phones, it is not typically available on a “Plain Old” Telephone Service (POTS) phone.
For example, when customer A calls customer B, the PSTN accesses the CNAM database to provide the calling number or identity of customer A to customer B's phone. In the case where customer A calls customer B, his mother, customer B may have a mobile phone programmed with a local phone book that associates caller A's phone number as “Son.” When the CNAM database provides caller A's phone number to customer B's phone, the phone will identify “Son” as associated with caller A's phone number and display “Son” to customer B. Having a phone programmed to associate the calling number with the identity of the caller suffers from several disadvantages. For example, the identification of caller A's phone number with “Son” must occur on each phone individually used by customer B, and thus requires that each phone desired to display the caller ID be specially programmed. By way of another example, if customer B loses the programmed phone or the phone ceases operating properly, customer B must entirely re-program a new phone to identify the calling parties.